Legacy Mod Install Packager (1.0.0.3) - File Description
NOTE: This file has become outdated and there's a newer / better version available. You can still get this file but we suggest you have a look at the NEW / UPDATED VERSION first!
This is another fine tool from Muldrf intended to assist Modders create customized installers for ships and/or Missions. This tool like the other packager tools available on the site is a god send for modders. It has a list of impressive features listed below:
Installation of Ships with Custom Sprites to Any Flyable Race on practically Any Version of Legacy.
Installation of Singleplayer Missions on practically Any Version of Legacy that includes Singleplayer Missions. For "Stock" Legacy it is able to add an Additional Missions button to the Campaign Menu.
Installation of Sound Db .csv entries for dbsound.csv, dbsoundgroups.csv and dbmusic.csv
It also enables automatic db.pak regeneration, this prevents the players from having to manually delete or move the db.pak
Other Stock Legacy Features that the tool can enable are: (specifically written for Stock Legacy and TLG 2.3, but might work for other versions that have minor menu editing)
- Enable Load/Save features (they only work in the Stock Campaign and are not perfect)
- Enable All Missions feature
- Enable Free Camera (for Stock, TLG already has this)
- Enable "Hero Ship Fix" (Help prevent getting the incorrect hero ship during the stock campaign in some cases)
- Enable Map Editor function, only enables the map editor it doesn't provide any interface changes to open it.
NOTE: This file has become outdated and there's a newer / better version available. You can still get this file but we suggest you have a look at the NEW / UPDATED VERSION first!
Legacy Mod Install Packager (1.0.0.3) - Screenshots
Screenshots:
Legacy Mod Install Packager (1.0.0.3) - File Download Options
Primary Download Locations:
Name: Location: Provided by:
Worldwide Mirror by FileFront USA Central FileFront.com
Readme File: Muldrf's Mod Installer Wrapper App 1.0.x
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Installation:
1. Extract "ModInstaller.exe" and place it in a folder. You can create an icon for it etc..
2. Check the Version of "C: windows system32 iexpress.exe" on your pc. To check the version find iexpress.exe and right click on it and pick Properties and check the Details section for the Version number. If the Version is 6.0.2900.2180 or lower your good to go. But if the version is higher such as 8.00.6001.18702 you must extract the older version of the required files from the "Additional.zip" to the same folder as you placed ModInstaller.exe, otherwise your Installers will fail to operate on Vista with UAC "User Account Control" enabled.
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Usage Instructions for creating a Package:
1. How to get to the Right Screens:
Press "Help" then "Setting Creation Menu" to get to the Setting Creation section of the tool. I did it that way so it will be less likely for the end user to end up in there and cause problems.
2. Creation of ModInstaller Setting Files.
a. Mission Settings: (Needed for singleplayer missions both scripted and unscripted)
To create the "Mission Setting" xml type the data into the boxes just as if you were entering them into the xml file. Then Save the file, it will create an xml file in the same directory that ModInstaller.exe is in. If you want you can more than 1 mission on the list.
b. Objective Settings: (Only needed for scripted missions with objectives)
To Create a Mission "Objective Settings" xml you will pick the objective file for your mission and press the button to add the entries to the list. If you have more than 1 mission you pick the "Add to List" button instead and it will append to the list the first button will clear the list. Once you have all the right objectives listed save the setting xml file.
c. Ship Settings: (Needed for ships will have their races chosen by the installer)
To create a "Ships Settings" xml you will need view the list and check the checkbox for each ship you want to include. You can filter the list by Race and Era if you like. Once you have checked all the ships you want added you must press the button to add them to the list in the lower box. After the ships are in the lower box press the button to save the setting xml file.
d. Sprite Settings: (Needed for ships that have weapons with new sprites)
If you are packaging ships that use customized weapon sprites of some type you can create a settings file for the sprites as well. To do so pick the proper "Reference" and the "Material" for the sprite. Then enter the info for the sprite into the boxes just like you would in the .spr file. After you have it all setup properly press the "Add to List" button and it will put it in the lower screen. Once all the sprites you want are down there save the setting xml file.
e. Sound/SoundGroup/Music Csv entries: (Optional for mission music, weapon sound effects or captain/crew audio entries)
If you are packaging ships with custom weapon sounds, or missions with new custom music that needs added to one of the db*.csv files.
3. Final Packaging:
a. After you have all the setting files created that you need (you don't need all 4 in most cases, most likely you only need 1 or 2 for your mod) you will be ready to setup the package.
b. To setup the package you will take your files for your mod and place them into their own folder just as if you were going to zip them up. Never include a Labelmap xml or Objectives Localized Strings xml the ModInstaller's setting files take care of updating the ones in the user's current install. Place your Readme file into that folder and name it "Readme.txt" or "Readme.rtf". Such as "C:ThisIsMyModReadme.txt" or "C:ThisIsMyModReadme.rtf" When the mod is installed it will use the Readme.txt/rtf as a display for the end user. When the Mod is installed it will be placed in Star Trek LegacyReadmes and renamed to Readme#.txtrtf so the file doesn't get overwritten. The .rtf format is a nice alternative to a plain .txt file because it allows formatting such as colorized text, centering, bold, font changes and font size etc. You can create ".rtf" files with WordPad or most other word processors it's generally listed as "Rich Text Format" in the word processor. You can always use the traditional .txt format if you prefer.
c. After the files are all where they need to be and you have your setting files created properly you are ready to package the mod into its own self extracting exe installer. The next step is to browse for the "Mod Files Location". When you pick a folder it will list all files it finds in that folder and the subfolders. Be sure to check that list that all the required files for you mod are found. Also it will show any of the 4 setting xmls that it finds in the directory with ModInstaller.exe and will be including them in the final package as well. If there are setting files that you don't want to be in the package, but are listed you can delete them by pressing the Delete "name" .xml so it doesn't include them (note the file is actually deleted). Next press the "Step 1" button to create "TheMod.zip" in the same location as ModInstaller.exe. Then you can pick the Final Package Filename (default is TheMod.exe) and finally press the "Step 2" button to create the exe. You can then test that things packaged properly and release your mod.
When creating a mod package there is also a file called "TheMod.zip", the only file that needs sent is the .exe that gets created by the Mod Installer (default filename is TheMod.exe) and it's not needed. It is used for testing purposes or if you want to package the mod differently you could combine it and ModInstaller.exe in a .zip or with some other SFX exe creator such as WinZip or winrar.
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Best Practices:
When using the ModInstaller here are some tips for preventing compatibility issues.
Ships:
If you have a new Refit Miranda model then you could overwrite the old ones, when you do such replacement you should list what versions of Legacy you have tested the mod on. Because large mods like Ultimate Universe often happen to have more than 1 Miranda Refit odf that works of the same m3d file and the hardpoints etc will likely not match up, mostly these "alternate odfs" are for mission specific configurations such as the Wrath of Khan mission for UU would have a Miranda Refit that has better hull or weapons etc and possibly no shields so it can be a challenge to the Enterprise.. This means that entirely new ships are less likely to cause issues in the big mods than an updated version of a stock ship. But if you�re adding a Variant ship that shouldn't be likely to cause issues with the big mods.
Be sure if you alter any stock odfs or others that get used by various other mods like the "Ship Cruiser Class Odfs" to keep in mind replacing the Cruiser Class odf with your modified one might cause problems in the larger mods even if that file works fine on Stock. If you�re going to make changes to an odf such as that you would be best off creating a copy of it to a new file name and make the modifications to that file and use it instead. Also you can always "reuse" that same modified cruiser odf for your future releases.
Sprites:
When using Sprites for ships etc you must always use a New Unique name for a new sprite. Also when picking a name for your new sprite be sure it's not likely to be used by someone else in the future or have been used in the past.. Such as "khanphaser3" would be BAD for me to use as some mod might have created that one already or is likely to a better alternative would be "MuldrfKhanPhaser3" or some such.. Also Never try to "Update" even one of your old sprites... Just create a new sprite, but as long as your just reusing the same Exact Sprite you are fine.. Say I release 3 ships that use "MuldrfKhanPhaser3" as their main phaser weapon sprite that's great, but if I tweak the sprite entry like up the res to 512 from 256 or anything else that requires a sprite line entry change I must do a new sprite such as "MuldfKhanPhaser4".. Now if your just updating the .dds texture and it won't require a sprite line change then you can continue to use the same sprite entry and the other 3 ships that were released previously will have the new enhanced sprite texture and still match the new ship. The only side effect to updating the texture is if someone installs or one of the 3 old ships after installing the newest one the texture gets swapped back to the older original one.
Keep in Mind that Mission Scripts can actually call on sprite entries for things such as creation of explosions in a specific point in space. So there might be some creative uses for sprites for Missions and not just confined to weapons on ships.
Missions:
When including scripted missions be sure to pick good unique names for your .sol and .drl/.dsl files. Also be sure to use good unique names for your objective files. You don't want to use "TWOK.sol" "TWOKR.DRL" "TWOKS.DSL" "TWOK_OBJECTIVES.xml" etc... You will want to use something more unique "Mtwok.sol" etc or "Muldrftwok.sol" or "twokmuldrf.sol" etc. Also that means it's a bad idea to use "STL15" as your names.. I suggest using the updated mission editor that I released that allows you to pick your own mission basename rather than using the one released by Bethsoft that locks you into "STL##". The reason you want to use good unique names is to prevent conflicts with file names of other mods.
General:
Remember when creating a mod for as many versions of Legacy as possible you must include all files required to operate your mod. When doing missions keep in mind you much include any nonstock music files, nonstock audio files, nonstock ship and station odfs etc. The best way to ensure that your mod will work on most versions of legacy is to either develop it using Stock Legacy or at least test it on Stock Legacy before finalizing the package.
Also when making mods to work with many versions of legacy you need to be sure not to be overwriting existing files with your new files in most cases as that could cause issues with the various mods that the player might have installed otherwise.
Never include a Labelmap xml or Objectives Localized Strings xml or some altered singleplayer mission xml (such as AllMission.xml, or HistoricalBattles.xml) with your mod. This tool takes care of those files automatically. All other files must be included. For Missions you can optionally include the mission sourcecode (the folder with the .rul, .scp files) but the source code is not needed. For Scripted missions you must include the .drl, .dsl, .sol, mission image file to display on the mission selection screen(1024x512 res .dds or .jpg format recommended) and the objective file from the objectives folder as well as any other unique files be them odfs or audio etc.
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Permissions / Notices:
This tool can be use to package ships and/or missions for Star Trek Legacy. It's been tested on Stock Legacy, Community Mod, Ultimate Universe 1.0, Ultimate Universe 1.5, Aftermath 2.0, Trek Battles 2, TLG 2.3. I tried to write the mod installer to work on practically any version of Legacy, but compatibility is not guaranteed.
This tool and these files are not supported by Maddoc or Bethesda Softworks and they are not responsible for any damages to your game directory. As with all modtools you are using them at your own risk. The end user of the tool accepts responsibility for usage of the tool. If a mod is improperly packaged with the tool it can cause issues with the player's copy of Legacy. It's up to the modder that uses the tool to test and verify it's operating properly.
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Credits / Contact:
If problems are found with the mod installer you can contact me and I'll see what I can do to help. Also if you have feature requests let me know.
ModInstaller.exe coded by Muldrf
markenobrookstone AT hotmail DOT com
http://forum.chrisjonesgaming.net/
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Legacy Mod Install Packager (1.0.0.3) - User Comments
The following comments are owned by the user that posted them. STLegacyFiles is not responsible for their content.
Total comments: 6 | Last comment: 06-11-2010 at 08:33
#1 - 06-06-2009 at 22:31
Zube1337 From: (Singapore) Joined: July 17th, 2007 Posts: 575
Too confusing but I think I just got it only 15%. Anyway why does it pop up and error when I cancelled something. It's about creating the table sort of thing, like in screenshot...all the screenshot. Anyway it allows me to continue. So no problem about it. BUT really too confusing and mixed up. Mind if you sort thing loosely? 8/10
#2 - 06-06-2009 at 22:32
Zube1337 From: (Singapore) Joined: July 17th, 2007 Posts: 575
God damn! I accidentally put 7 on the vote button!
#3 - 06-07-2009 at 19:29
muldrf From: Joined: November 3rd, 2008 Posts: 229
The tool is nearly useless without pointing it to legacy folder, as it can't pull objective or ship data from nowhere. And the message tells you that, it's not an error it's a "notice".
You don't "have to" point it to a legacy folder, but it's far more difficult to do ship packages and it's impossible to enter mission objectives.
#4 - 07-22-2009 at 13:38
muldrf From: Joined: November 3rd, 2008 Posts: 229
wait so will this get rid of the problems with db.pak? The problem i have is i keep deleting it and it keeps coming back i even deleted every single word in it and it just keeps coming back. Will this fix that
#6 - 06-11-2010 at 08:33
muldrf From: Joined: November 3rd, 2008 Posts: 229
@5. When a mod is installed by use of the modinstaller it will enable autoregeneration of the db.pak. The fact it is being recreated each time you launch means you DON'T need to delete it, it only needs deleted if it's Not Auto Regenerating and is using a Static file.
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